FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Common questions about THE SERVICES WE PROVIDE

» What wedding photography services do you offer?

My team and I offer comprehensive wedding and elopement photography and videography services. Whether you’re planning an intimate ceremony, a grand celebration, or a photo/video package, we’ve got you covered. My packages include coverage by me as your lead photographer, one of my trusted second photographers, high-resolution digital images, and delivery via an online gallery for easy sharing with your loved ones. I also love photographing engagement sessions and offer them for free with any of my wedding photography packages.

» Do you shoot weddings with a second photographer?

Yes, I do! For all of my wedding day packages (which are 6 or more hours), I bring a second photographer at no additional cost (and for micro-wedding/intimate wedding packages, there is the option to add a second photographer for $125 per hour). I find having a second photographer is incredibly valuable. Having another pair of eyes and cameras means fewer missed moments, as well as multiple angles of the same moment (for example, both partners’ reactions as one walks down the aisle).

» Do you offer wedding videography?

Absolutely! When wedding videography services are added onto our wedding photography packages, I bring one of my team’s several wonderfully talented videographers while I lead your photography for the day. My team and I offer wedding highlight films, documentary-style “home video” edits, full ceremony video coverage, and full toasts video coverage.

» Are you available for destination weddings?

Definitely. Traveling is my first love and one of the things that brought me to photography, and one of the best parts of my work is getting to document destination weddings all around the world. My years of experience as a wedding photographer and as a traveler mean that I’m well prepared to handle all of the logistics and intricacies of capturing your special day in a remote location. I’m also a master of researching and scouting new photography locations, whether I’m at home in Southern California or abroad.

» Do you have a travel rate?

I do charge a travel fee for weddings and photo sessions that take place outside of Los Angeles County or Orange County. The fee is exactly what it will cost me to be there—no more. During our initial consultation, you can let me know your plans, and we’ll talk about what the travel rate will look like.

» What other types of photography sessions do you do?

I offer outdoor, natural light photography sessions. I’ve become a bit of a specialist in photographing proposals in the Southern California area (though I’m always happy to travel wherever you’d like to pop the question). I also offer rates for engagement sessions and mini portrait sessions (which people often book for graduation or senior portraits, maternity sessions, family portrait sessions, and for social media content).

Common questions about THE PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERIENCE

» What is your photography style?

I believe in wedding photography that is authentic and candid, rooted in photojournalism, and emotional. I love portraits with movement, that feel like they could have been still frames from a movie, where anyone can see your love for each other all over your faces (but don’t worry—we’ll also get the photos of the two of you smiling at the camera for grandma’s mantelpiece). My editing style is true to color—trends come and go, but I want your wedding photography gallery to stand the test of time and to truly reflect the colors and aesthetic you curated so carefully.

» How would you describe your approach to wedding photography?

My goal throughout a wedding day is to capture real, authentic moments. I’ll fill my wedding galleries with in-between moments—the groom holding the bride’s bouquet as he helps her down the stairs, partners fixing each other’s boutonnières before a portrait session, a ring bearer throwing a tantrum before the ceremony—all of the beautiful, fleeting moments that make up a the most important day of your life.

The only exceptions to this quiet, discrete approach are during your getting ready photos and portraits. When you’re getting ready—those moments where your mom is buttoning up your dress, you’re putting on your jewelry, and hugging your bridesmaids—my approach is a blend of candid and guided. I find that at the beginning of the day, especially in areas like hotel rooms where there may not be a lot of space or light, it’s most helpful for me to provide guidance to keep everything on schedule . For example, I’ll suggest a corner of the room that has nice lighting, I’ll do a quick sweep for stray water bottles, and I’ll be a resource to you when it comes to getting ready in (for example, reminding your groomsmen to put on their boutonnières and suggesting that your maid of honor helps you put your shoes on). However, I won’t interfere in a way that takes away from the beauty of the moment or have you tie and untie your shoes five times. :)

» I’m nervous about the portraits. What can we expect during a portrait session with you?

I completely understand that feeling—personally, I’m a little camera-shy, too. My approach to portraits is to keep it as fun and easy-going as possible. Don’t worry—I’ll always give you guidance on how to stand and where to put your hands, so you won’t have to come up with that on your own, and I’ll direct you through a good variety of poses so you have lots of choices in your final gallery. But after setting you up in a “pose,” before I start taking photos, I’ll usually give you an activity—something to think of, something to do, or something silly to say to each other that distracts you from the camera and gets honest laughter. My goal isn’t just to take beautiful photos; it’s to capture the essence of your connection, your true selves. (And hopefully, we’ll have a lot of fun, too!)

» What are you like?

I started taking pictures as a kid with my dad’s old Nikon 35mm on our many road trips up and down the California coast, and ever since, I’ve been obsessed with collecting visual memories. I’ve photographed people and weddings for years, from elopements to huge, formal affairs, and I make sure that my associates and team members know what they’re doing, as well.

I’ve seen it all. And in my experience, the most important attribute in a wedding professional—whether you’re a wedding photographer, videographer, or assistant—is social and emotional intelligence: understanding when to step in and make people feel more comfortable and let them know what to do, as well as when to step out and allow people to truly experience every moment of their big day.

A lot of my photography clients are a little on the camera-shy side—honestly, I am, too. Throughout my photography process, whether I’m at a wedding or any other type of photo session, my main goal is making sure that the person on the other side of the camera feels comfortable and informed.

I’m a planner (I literally still keep a paper planner), and I love building or contributing to wedding timelines to make sure everyone’s on the same page and there’s enough time to do everything with minimal stress and minimal rushing around.

In the months ahead of your wedding as well as on your wedding day, we’ll be in constant communication. I won’t be standing on tables or dragging you around for portraits past your point of comfort. I’ll be a calming and empathetic presence, reminding you to enjoy the people around you and this moment in time.

Don’t take my word for it, though—I welcome you to read about what my past clients have said about me.

Common questions about THE BOOKING PROCESS

» How far in advance should we book our wedding photography?

I would recommend inquiring about your wedding photography as soon as you have a confirmed date, which usually happens when you book your venue. I often book couples as far out as a year and a half from their wedding date. Popular dates (Saturdays and Sundays) during peak wedding seasons (April - June and August - October) tend to fill up quickly, so the earlier you secure my services the better. However, if your wedding is just around the corner and you’re looking for a wedding photographer at the last minute, please don’t hesitate to reach out—I’ll do my best to accommodate your needs, find an associate who can photograph your wedding on my behalf at a discount, or refer you to other wedding photographers in the Southern California area.

» How do I book you for my wedding?

The best place to start is filling out my inquiry form with your wedding date, venue, and any other information that you think is important for me to know. I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can and let you know if I’m available on your wedding date, and I’ll give you a link to schedule a call with me. During our call, you can ask me any questions that you have, and I’ll give you all of the information about what I provide and how I approach wedding photography.

At the end of the call, if we feel like we’d be a good fit to work together, I’ll follow up with a contract for you to review and sign, as well as an invoice for a 50% retainer to hold the date. Once that is received, your date will be saved, and we’ll be all set!

» What happens after I book you for my wedding?

We’ll keep in contact! I’ll follow you on Instagram, you can send me funny memes or pictures of your pets, and I can be a resource for you in the wedding planning process, to the best of my ability. If you want to schedule an engagement session, you can reach out any time to do so. Couples normally book their engagement sessions 6-7 months before a wedding to give them time to use the photos in their save-the-dates, but there’s no rule saying you can’t book it earlier or later than that.

About 2 months before your wedding day, I’ll get back in touch with you and send you a wedding day questionnaire, which helps me gather all the details you’ve finalized about your wedding plans, such as the timing of the ceremony and reception events. Using your answers on the questionnaire, I’ll write a draft photography timeline (that will match the timeline given to you by your planner or venue coordinator). When I email it to you for you to review, I’ll also send you a link to schedule a meeting, and we’ll meet to go over the timeline and reconnect, usually about a month before your wedding.

Then after our check-in meeting, everything for photo and video should be squared away! You can let me know if there are updates from other vendors or to the timeline, but I’ll be ready and excited for your big day.

» What is the pay schedule like for wedding photography packages?

The pay schedule includes a retainer, which is 50% up front to reserve your wedding date. The remaining 50% of your package cost will be due one month before your wedding, around the time that we’ll have our one-month check-in meeting. All of your payments can be made wit credit card or bank transfer (though if you prefer to pay via cash or Venmo/Zelle, let me know and I can make it happen).

» Will I have to pay any taxes or fees on top of the final photo package?

Not at all! I’ll include all taxes and fees in your total price, and any travel rate will be something we talked about and agreed upon together—no surprises.

» What if I don’t know how many hours of wedding photography I’ll need?

This is a really common and understandable question, because you’re booking your wedding photography several months to over a year before your actual wedding. Plans change and develop over the wedding planning process. If you’re in between two packages, my recommendation is to go with the smaller one in the meantime and add hours later on if you discover that you’ll need more hours. If you switch packages or if you add services such as videography or extra hours at any point up to the month before your wedding, I’ll just add the difference between the packages to your final payment. This change usually happens when we’re going over draft timelines during the check-in meeting a month out from your wedding day. If I know that far in advance, I’ll be able to let me second photographer and videographer know and ask them to stay for the additional hours.

If you want to add hours on the day of the actual day of the wedding, I can usually accommodate that, and I’ll charge my add-on hourly rate of $400 per hour. (I can’t promise that my team members, such as my videographer or second photographer, will be able to stay on, as they may have commitments that require them to leave as scheduled.)

» Should I book an engagement session?

Your wedding experience and needs are your own, and there are no requirements at all. However, I do highly recommend them. Engagement sessions are a great way to practice being in front of the camera and to build rapport and friendship before I show up at your wedding day with all of my cameras, gear, and team members. I love using engagement sessions to try out poses and prompts that we’ll use on your wedding day. For inspiration, check out my galleries to see some recent engagement sessions.

» Can we include our cat/dog/parakeet in our portraits?

A THOUSAND TIMES, YES! I adore animals and would be delighted to include your fur-babies in your wedding photos, engagement photos, or portrait session.

Common questions about THE TECHNICALITIES

» Will we receive black and white photos?

For sure! I love black and white images—sometimes, stripping the color away is exactly what a photo needs to make the subjects or lighting sing. I’ll include black and white photos in your gallery, and you can always request more black and whites (or even ask for me to make black and white versions of specific images).

» Do you deliver the RAW images?

In short, no. The longer answer gets pretty technical, and I’ll link you to a blog post I have about the topic. But briefly, RAW images are the term for the photo files that come straight out of camera and are not meant to be delivered as is—they’re huge files because they retain tons of data, making it possible for a photographer to manipulate them so that shadows can be lifted, highlights can be saved, and colors can be adjusted. One way to think about it is going to a restaurant and asking for the ingredients to a dish instead of the final dish. If I delivered the photos as RAW files, I would be doing a huge disservice to you and to myself. I value the work that I put out into the world, and half of my art is the post-processing.

» Do you retouch your images?

I process all of my images for color and exposure (see above) so they reflect the colors of the day and in the style reflected in my portfolio, and whenever there is something glaringly obvious that needs to be retouched in an image that we couldn’t fix in the moment (such as a trash can in a corner of the image or an exit sign above your head), I’ll take the time to retouch it away. Because the galleries I deliver are so large, especially my wedding galleries, I don’t usually do extensive retouching on every image (otherwise it’d take quite a long time to get the photos back to you). However, once you have the gallery, if you have any favorites that you’d like specific retouches on—such as a favorite portrait but there’s a stray hair on your cheek—you can let me know and I’d be happy to accommodate.

» Are you insured?

Yes, I am. I hold general liability insurance. Often, venues will ask couples to collect insurance information for their vendors. If this happens, feel free to reach out or have your coordinator or planner do so, and I’ll send all of the documentation they need.

» How long will it take to receive our photos?

I definitely understand the excitement of seeing your gallery, and I’ll work diligently to deliver them to you as quickly as possible.

For wedding photography galleries, my typical turnaround time is 4 to 6 weeks. If there is a videography add-on, the turnaround time is usually closer to 6 to 8 weeks. I’ll also send a mini-gallery of previews within a week of your wedding, so you’ll have some photos right away to send thank you notes to your guests and make your formal announcements on social media.

For photo sessions, galleries are usually ready within 15 days.

» How will we receive our photos?

I send all of my galleries via a service called Pic-Time, an online gallery host. You’ll receive the invitation to your gallery via email, and they will be privately available to you and anyone you invite to your gallery on that website. My wedding photography galleries stay online for 1 year, and all other photo sessions stay online for 2 months.

» How long will my photos be backed up?

As long as humanly possible! I back up the edited version of all of the photos I take on multiple hard drives and store them in multiple places, as well as via a private online cloud system. However, I am human and, sadly, mortal. I highly recommend downloading all of your images right away and storing them in your own backups. If you need any guidance on how to do this, feel free to reach out.

WORK WITH ME

01 | Inquire

Fill out an inquiry form to get in touch with me and find out if I’m available for the dates and the location of your event. If I am available, I’ll reply with a link to schedule a meeting.

02 | Connect

We’ll schedule a video chat to get to know each other. I’ll tell you about my approach to photography, and you’ll tell me about what you’re looking for and ask me any questions that you have.

03 | Formalize

After our initial meeting, I’ll send you a contract, as well as an invoice for the 50% retainer to hold your date. You’re booked!

04 | Plan

Over the course of the months before your event, we’ll stay in touch. Two months before your wedding, I’ll send a questionnaire to learn the finalized wedding plans, and I’ll build a photo timeline for us to reference on the day.